Novak Djokovic was knocked out of the Monte Carlo Masters by an inspired Dominic Thiem in the third round on Thursday, with the Austrian fifth seed progressing to a possible quarter-final with Rafael Nadal.

Thiem, a two-time French Open semi-finalist, was the better player for much of the match and won 6-7 (2/7), 6-2, 6-3 despite a battling effort from Djokovic.

The 12-time Grand Slam champion has still not reached a quarter-final since Wimbledon last July after struggling with an elbow injury.

Djokovic, 30, had said he was pain-free in Monte Carlo for the first time in two years, but Thiem backed up his French Open quarter-final win over the Serbian from last year with another impressive victory.

The 24-year-old will take on either world number one Nadal or Russian Karen Khachanov in the quarter-finals.

World number seven Thiem laid down a marker in the opening stages, holding to love before breaking the Djokovic serve with a clean forehand winner.

Djokovic faced a set point on his own serve when trailing 5-2, but saved it with a volley to force Thiem to serve for the opener.

Thiem brought up two more set points, only for his forehand to break down with two errors, before a double fault gave Djokovic the chance to break back.